The proposed donation of the downtown library to the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce is a good idea...IF the city's interest are protected.
Unfortunately the proposed Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (CEA) is insufficient in several aspects.
1. The CEA does NOT prohibit the Chamber from transferring title to the building without the permission of the Shreveport City Council.
2. The CEA does NOT have any prohibitions on leasing of the entire building for any purpose. Nor does it restrict the type of tenant that could occupy the downstairs, such as tattoo parlor, massage parlour, payday loan, etc. The language that the building should only be utilized "for the advancement of economic growth and the creation of business opportunities within the City of Shreveport" reads like legal swiss cheese...plenty of holes.
3. The CEA does NOT indicate if it will be made part of the transfer document, i.e. will the conditions of transfer be made public record alerting potential transferees of its terms?
4. The CEA does NOT have any clawback provisions that require the Chamber to reconvey the building to the city if the CEA is not followed. The CEA says that upon the failure after notice to correct any failure by the Chamber in compliance will allow the city to terminate the CEA, which does NOTHING to protect the interests of the city.
5. The CEA does NOT address the reality that the Chamber may mortgage the building to pay for needed repairs. If the CEA is amended to add clawback provisions, how will this be handled.
Again, it’s a great idea to transfer ownership of this building to the Chamber. But just because it is the Chamber, the usual and customary safeguards and restrictions for such a transaction should not be ignored
